1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for delivering fuel and more particularly to an automated fuel dispensing system that employs a remote control system to centrally supervise and manage the vehicle refueling operations requested by customers located at multiple distributed service station sites.
2. Description of the Related Art
A typical refueling transaction requires the customer to first exit the vehicle and then interact with some type of input device arranged at the fuel dispenser housing area in order to request the refueling operation and indicate the form of payment. One conventional input device utilizes a simple keypunch entry pad that enables the customer to select the type of fuel, the volume of fuel to be dispensed, and any other related billing information. The billing mechanism typically employs an insert-type card slot that reads the relevant customer account information embedded on the magnetic strip. After the transaction request is authorized, the customer is notified of this acceptance and is ordered to commence the refueling operation. The customer would then manually insert the nozzle assembly into the fuel inlet of the vehicle and activate the attached lever mechanism to dispense the fuel. The customer returns the nozzle assembly to its holding receptacle after completing the refueling activity and then retrieves the billing receipt being printed at the fuel dispenser housing.
Authorization of the refueling request typically involves transmission of the credit card information to the card issuer to verify that sufficient funds are available for the transaction. The refueling request is either approved or denied based upon the response received in connection with the verification inquiry. The fuel dispensing apparatus is appropriately operated pursuant to the decision made regarding the refueling request. For purposes of implementing these transaction processing functions, service station sites are conventionally provided with on-site processing facilities to request verification of the credit card account (i.e., by communicating with the card issuing institution) and then executing the proper course of control action relative to the fuel dispensing equipment based on the verification response. The control facility for processing the transaction request is typically implemented by processor devices and other such equipment located at the service station site. What is apparent from this arrangement is that the processing functions associated with making a decision regarding the transaction request and then formulating the proper control action to implement the decision are localized to the particular service station site where the refueling operation takes place. This form of dedicated on-site processing may be appropriate for franchises having only a few local service station outlets, but for larger entities having networks of franchises distributed throughout the world this type of processing arrangement is inefficient and not cost effective due to the redundant configuration of equipment and labor associated with each service station site.
What is therefore needed is some form of centralized system controller that can manage the entire portfolio of refueling requests that are generated at multiple service station sites distributed throughout a large service area. The centralized system controller should not be location-dependent but can be configured at any remote service facility deemed suitable for this purpose. Additionally, the fuel delivery system that incorporates this centralized system controller should execute the refueling operation in an automated manner so as to eliminate any customer involvement with the fuel dispensing apparatus and thereby permit the customer to remain in the vehicle throughout the entire refueling period.
According to the present invention there is provided an automated fuel delivery method and system for managing the plurality of refueling transaction requests that are generated by a plurality of fuel dispensing systems arranged at a plurality of service station sites. Integrated with each fuel dispensing assembly is a respective dedicated control system that includes a controller, an RF transceiver, a robotic actuator assembly for selectively maneuvering the fuel dispensing nozzle assembly into fuel dispensing engagement with the vehicle fuel inlet, and a camera-based monitoring assembly mounted to the robot to provide video signals to assist in the robotic maneuvering activity. The vehicle for refueling is equipped with an RF transceiver that is arranged for communication with the RF transceiver associated with the dedicated control system. Each one of the dedicated control systems configured at each one of the service station sites is arranged for communication with a central system controller located at a remote service facility. The central system controller performs centralized processing of the refueling transaction requests received from the service station sites. In this manner, the transaction requests for all of the service station sites are processed in a centralized manner at the remote service facility. The appropriate control activity responsive to each transaction request is generated according to the relevant transaction processing results and then transmitted to the dedicated control system in the form of suitable control commands, where the associated controller then properly operates the robotic arm and the fuel dispenser in accordance with the control commands. The customer can request additional transactions other than the refueling request since the central system controller is arranged for connection to a communications network that provides access to other commercial retailers, e.g., online merchants having electronic commerce sites on the Internet and Worldwide Web.
The invention, in one form thereof, comprises a method of delivering fuel to a vehicle positioned at a service station site, such service station site including a fuel dispensing assembly arranged to operatively provide fuel to the vehicle and having a nozzle assembly. The method comprises, in combination, the steps of: providing a remote system controller disposed remote from the service station site; generating at the service station site information relating to a refueling transaction request associated with the vehicle; transmitting the generated information from the service station site to the remote system controller; such remote system controller operatively performing the steps of processing the refueling transaction request associated with the information received from the service station site and generating control commands based on the processing activity for the refueling transaction request, such generated control commands being representative of a selectable refueling operation for the vehicle; placing the nozzle assembly of the fuel dispensing assembly into a selective one of engagement and disengagement with respect to a fuel inlet of the vehicle in accordance with the control commands generated by the remote system controller; and operating the fuel dispensing assembly in accordance with the control commands generated by the remote system controller.
The information generation step further comprises the steps of: providing a first wireless communications device in integral association with the vehicle, such first wireless communications device being operatively activatable by a refueling customer associated with the vehicle; and providing a second wireless communications device being disposed at the service station site in a manner sufficient to enable operative communications with the first wireless communications device while the vehicle is positioned for refueling relative to the fuel dispensing assembly. The operative communications between the first wireless communications device and the second wireless communications device includes the information relating to the refueling transaction request.
The nozzle assembly placement step further comprises the steps of: providing an actuator assembly operatively associated with the fuel dispensing assembly, such actuator assembly being operative in response to suitable control commands applied thereto to selectively cause the nozzle assembly to be placed into a selective one of mating fueling engagement with the vehicle fuel inlet and disengagement from the vehicle fuel inlet; and operating the actuator assembly in accordance with the control commands generated by the remote system controller.
The information transmission step further comprises the steps of: providing a dedicated controller operatively connected to the fuel dispensing assembly, actuator assembly, and second wireless communications device; such dedicated controller being operative to control the dispensing of fuel by the fuel dispensing assembly, to control the operation of the actuator assembly, and to transmit to the remote system controller information relating to the refueling transaction request provided by the first wireless communications device to the second wireless communications device.
The method, in one form thereof, further comprises the step of providing a communications link to operatively connect the remote system controller with the dedicated controller.
The remote system controller, in one form thereof, further performs the step of issuing the control commands generated by the remote system controller to the dedicated controller for conducting operative control of the fuel dispensing assembly by the dedicated controller and operative control of the actuator assembly by the dedicated controller in accordance with the issued control commands.
The method, in one form thereof, further comprises the step of generating position signals representative of the position of the actuator assembly relative to the vehicle and relative to the nozzle assembly. The position signal generation step further includes the steps of generating video signals representative of the positional relationship of the actuator assembly relative to the vehicle and relative to the nozzle assembly; and providing the generated video signals to the dedicated controller. The dedicated controller is further operative to transmit to the remote system controller the generated video signals provided thereto and data signals provided thereto by the fuel dispensing assembly being representative of an operational state of the fuel dispensing assembly.
The remote system controller, in another form thereof, further performs the steps of: (a) evaluating the information received from the dedicated controller to make a decision regarding a selective one of approval and denial of the refueling transaction request, generating dispenser control signals based on the evaluation of the information and developed in accordance with the refueling decision, such generated dispenser control signals being representative of a selectable refueling activity for the fuel dispensing assembly, and transmitting the generated dispenser control signals to the dedicated controller for operative control action in accordance therewith; (b) evaluating the video signals received from the dedicated controller, generating actuator assembly control signals based on the video signals evaluation, such generated actuator assembly control signals being representative of an operational repositioning activity for the actuator assembly relative to maneuvering the nozzle assembly into a selective one of engagement and disengagement relative to the fuel inlet of the vehicle, and transmitting the generated actuator assembly control signals to the dedicated controller for operative control action in accordance therewith; and (c) evaluating the fuel dispensing assembly data signals received from the dedicated controller to determine if the selected refueling activity has been completed, and, upon an affirmative determination of the completion of refueling activity, transmitting to the dedicated controller control signals sufficient to operate the actuator assembly to cause the disengagement of the nozzle assembly from the fuel inlet of the vehicle.
The method, in another form thereof, further comprises the steps of: providing a communications network operatively connected to the remote system controller, such communications network being arranged to provide communications access to at least one merchant to enable the execution of a transaction therewith by the remote system controller in accordance with an associated transaction request operatively transmitted from the service station site to the remote system controller. The method further includes the steps of: generating at the service station site a commercial transaction request relating to commercial activity involving a selective one of the at least one merchant; and transmitting the generated commercial transaction request to the remote system controller; such remote system controller performing the steps of processing the commercial transaction request transmitted thereto and conducting a transaction with the corresponding one of the at least one merchant associated with the commercial transaction request in accordance with the processing activity for the commercial transaction request.
The step of providing a communications network further includes the step of providing an internet facility including a respective electronic commerce site for each one of the at least one merchant that enables the operative processing of transaction requests characterized by electronic commerce activity.
The invention, in another form thereof, comprises a method of delivering fuel to a vehicle positioned at a service station site, such service station site including a fuel dispensing assembly arranged to operatively provide fuel to the vehicle and having a nozzle assembly. The method comprises, in combination, the steps of: providing an actuator assembly operatively associated with the fuel dispensing assembly, such actuator assembly being operative in response to suitable control commands applied thereto to controllably cause the nozzle assembly to be placed into a selective one of mating fueling engagement with the vehicle fuel inlet and disengagement from the vehicle fuel inlet; providing a control assembly operatively connected to the fuel dispensing assembly and operatively connected to the actuator assembly; wirelessly transmitting from the vehicle to the control assembly information relating to a refueling transaction request associated with the vehicle; providing a remote operations facility disposed remote from the service station site; transmitting from the control assembly to the remote operations facility the information wirelessly transmitted to the control assembly; such remote operations facility performing the steps of processing the information received from the control assembly to make a refueling decision regarding a selective one of approval and denial of the refueling transaction request, generating control commands based on the information processing activity, and transmitting the generated control commands to the control assembly, such generated control commands being representative of a selectable refueling operation for the vehicle; and such control assembly operatively controlling the operation of the actuator assembly and the operation of the fuel dispensing assembly in accordance with the control commands received from the remote operations facility.
The wireless information transmission step further comprises the steps of: providing a first wireless communications device integral with the vehicle and having at least one of a transmit capability and a receive capability; and operatively activating the first wireless communications device to establish operative communications with the control assembly. The operative communications between the first wireless communications device and the control assembly includes information relating to the refueling transaction request. The operative activation of the first wireless communications device occurs through selective engagement thereof by a customer associated with the vehicle.
The step of providing a control assembly further comprises the steps of: providing a second wireless communications device being disposed at the service station site in a manner sufficient to enable operative communications with the first wireless communications device while the vehicle is positioned for refueling relative to the fuel dispensing assembly.
The method, in one form thereof, further comprises the steps of: providing to the control assembly position signals representative of the position of the actuator assembly relative to the vehicle and relative to the nozzle assembly; and transmitting from the control assembly to the remote operations facility the provided position signals.
The remote operations facility, in one form thereof, further performs the steps of: (a) evaluating the information received from the control assembly to make a decision regarding a selective one of approval and denial of the refueling transaction request, generating dispenser control signals based on the evaluation of the information and developed in accordance with the refueling decision, such generated dispenser control signals being representative of a selectable refueling activity for the fuel dispensing assembly, and transmitting the generated dispenser control signals to the control assembly for operative control action in accordance therewith; (b) evaluating the position signals received from the control assembly, generating actuator assembly control signals based on the position signals evaluation, such generated actuator assembly control signals being representative of an operational repositioning activity for the actuator assembly relative to maneuvering the nozzle assembly into a selective one of engagement and disengagement relative to the fuel inlet of the vehicle, and transmitting the generated actuator assembly control signals to the control assembly for operative control action in accordance therewith; and (c) evaluating data received from the control assembly being representative of an operational state of the fuel dispensing assembly to determine if the selected refueling activity has been completed, and, upon an affirmative determination of the completion of refueling activity, transmitting to the control assembly control signals sufficient to operate the actuator assembly to cause the disengagement of the nozzle assembly from the fuel inlet of the vehicle.
The method, in another form thereof, further comprises the step of providing a communications network operatively connected to the remote operations facility, such communications network being arranged to provide communications access to at least one merchant to enable the execution of a transaction therewith by the remote operations facility in accordance with an associated transaction request operatively received from the control assembly. The method, in another form thereof, further comprises the steps of: transmitting from the first wireless communications device to the second wireless communications device a commercial transaction request relating to commercial activity involving a selective one of the at least one merchant; and transmitting the commercial transaction request received by the second wireless communications device to the remote operations facility; such remote operations facility performing the steps of processing the commercial transaction request transmitted thereto and conducting a transaction with the corresponding one of the at least one merchant associated with the commercial transaction request in accordance with the processing activity for the commercial transaction request.
The step of providing a communications network further includes the step of providing an internet facility including a respective electronic commerce site for each one of the at least one merchant that enables the operative processing of transaction requests characterized by electronic commerce activity.
The invention, in another form thereof, comprises a method of handling a plurality of refueling requests each associated with a respective one of a plurality of vehicles each positioned for refueling at an associated one of a plurality of service station sites, wherein one of the plurality of vehicles is operatively associated with a respective fuel dispensing assembly having a respective nozzle assembly and which is arranged to operatively provide fuel to the vehicle associated therewith. The method comprises, in combination, the steps of: providing a remote operations facility disposed remote from at least one of the plurality of service station sites; and operatively performing the following steps in relation to each respective one of the plurality of refueling transaction requests: generating at the associated service station site respective information relating to the respective one refueling transaction request; transmitting the respective generated information from the associated service station site to the remote operations facility; wherein such remote operations facility operatively performs the steps of processing the respective one refueling transaction request associated with the respective information received from the associated service station site, and generating respective control commands based on the processing activity for the respective one refueling transaction request, such respective generated control commands being representative of a respective selectable refueling operation for the associated vehicle; placing the respective nozzle assembly of the associated fuel dispensing assembly into a selective one of engagement and disengagement with respect to a fuel inlet of the associated vehicle in accordance with the respective control commands generated by the remote operations facility; and operating the associated fuel dispensing assembly in accordance with the respective control commands generated by the remote operations facility.
Each respective information generation step of each respective operative performance step associated with each respective one of the plurality of refueling transaction requests further comprises the steps of: providing a respective first wireless communications device in integral association with the associated vehicle, such respective first wireless communications device being operatively activatable by a refueling customer associated with the vehicle; and providing a respective second wireless communications device being disposed at the associated service station site in a manner sufficient to enable operative communications with the respective first wireless communications device while the associated vehicle is positioned for refueling relative to the associated fuel dispensing assembly. The operative communications between the respective first wireless communications device and the respective second wireless communications device includes information relating to the respective one refueling transaction request.
Each respective nozzle assembly placement step of each respective operative performance step associated with each respective one of the plurality of refueling transaction requests further comprises the steps of: providing a respective actuator assembly operatively associated with the associated respective fuel dispensing assembly, wherein the respective actuator assembly is operative in response to suitable control commands applied thereto to selectively cause the associated nozzle assembly to be placed into a selective one of mating fueling engagement with the fuel inlet of the associated vehicle and disengagement from the associated vehicle fuel inlet; and operating the respective actuator assembly in accordance with the associated control commands generated by the remote operations facility.
Each respective information transmission step of each respective operative performance step associated with each respective one of the plurality of refueling transaction requests further comprises the steps of: providing a respective dedicated controller operatively connected to the associated fuel dispensing assembly, the associated actuator assembly, and the associated second wireless communications device. The respective dedicated controller is operative to control the dispensing of fuel by the associated fuel dispensing assembly, control the operation of the associated actuator assembly, and transmit to the remote operations facility information relating to the respective one refueling transaction request provided by the associated first wireless communications device to the associated second wireless communications device.
The remote operations facility further performs, in respect of each respective one of the plurality of refueling transaction requests, the step of issuing the associated control commands generated by the remote operations facility to the associated dedicated controller for conducting operative control of the associated fuel dispensing assembly by the associated dedicated controller and operative control of the associated actuator assembly by the associated dedicated controller in accordance with the issued associated control commands.
Each respective operative performance step associated with each respective one of the plurality of refueling transaction requests further comprises the steps of: generating respective position signals representative of the position of the associated actuator assembly relative to the associated vehicle and relative to the associated nozzle assembly; providing the respective generated position signals to the associated dedicated controller; and transmitting the respective generated position signals from the associated dedicated controller to the remote operations facility.
The remote operations facility further performs, in respect of each respective one of the plurality of refueling transaction requests, the steps of: (a) evaluating the associated information received from the associated dedicated controller to make a respective decision regarding a selective one of approval and denial of the respective one refueling transaction request, generating respective dispenser control signals based on the evaluation of the associated information and developed in accordance with the respective refueling decision, wherein the respective generated dispenser control signals are representative of a respective selectable refueling activity for the associated fuel dispensing assembly, and transmitting the respective generated dispenser control signals to the associated dedicated controller for operative control action in accordance therewith; (b) evaluating the associated position signals received from the associated dedicated controller, generating respective actuator assembly control signals based on the position signals evaluation, wherein the respective generated actuator assembly control signals are representative of an operational repositioning activity for the associated actuator assembly relative to maneuvering the associated nozzle assembly into a selective one of engagement and disengagement relative to the fuel inlet of the associated vehicle, and transmitting the respective generated actuator assembly control signals to the associated dedicated controller for operative control action in accordance therewith; and (c) evaluating data signals received from the associated dedicated controller that are representative of an operational state of the associated fuel dispensing assembly to determine if the selected respective refueling activity has been completed, and, upon an affirmative determination of the completion of refueling activity, transmitting to the associated dedicated controller respective control signals sufficient to operate the associated actuator assembly to cause the disengagement of the associated nozzle assembly from the fuel inlet of the associated vehicle.
The method, in one form thereof, further comprises the steps of: providing a communications network operatively connected to the remote operations facility, wherein the communications network is arranged to provide communications access to at least one merchant to enable the execution of a transaction therewith by the remote operations facility in accordance with an associated transaction request operatively received from a corresponding respective one of the plurality of service station sites in association with a corresponding respective one of the plurality of vehicles. The method further comprises the steps of: generating at the corresponding respective one service station site a commercial transaction request relating to commercial activity involving a selective one of the at least one merchant; transmitting the generated commercial transaction request to the remote operations facility; wherein the remote operations facility performs the steps of processing the commercial transaction request transmitted thereto and conducting a transaction with the corresponding one of the at least one merchant associated with the commercial transaction request in accordance with the processing activity for the commercial transaction request.
The step of providing a communications network further includes the step of providing an internet facility including a respective electronic commerce site for each one of the at least one merchant that enables the operative processing of transaction requests characterized by electronic commerce activity.
The invention, in another form thereof, comprises a method of handling a plurality of refueling requests each associated with a respective one of a plurality of vehicles each positioned for refueling at an associated one of a plurality of service station sites, wherein each one of the plurality of vehicles is operatively associated with a respective fuel dispensing assembly having a respective nozzle assembly and which is arranged to operatively provide fuel to the vehicle associated therewith. The method comprises, in combination, the steps of: providing a remote operations facility disposed remote from at least one of the plurality of service station sites; and operatively performing the following steps in relation to each respective one of the plurality of refueling transaction requests: providing a respective actuator assembly operatively associated with the associated fuel dispensing assembly, wherein the respective actuator assembly is operative in response to suitable control commands applied thereto to controllably cause the associated respective nozzle assembly to be placed into a selective one of mating fueling engagement with the fuel inlet of the associated vehicle and disengagement from the associated vehicle fuel inlet; providing a respective control assembly operatively connected to the associated fuel dispensing assembly and operatively connected to the respective actuator assembly; wirelessly transmitting from the associated vehicle to the respective control assembly respective information relating to the respective one refueling transaction request; transmitting from the respective control assembly to the remote operations facility the respective information wirelessly transmitted to the respective control assembly; wherein the remote operations facility performs the steps of processing the respective information received from the respective control assembly to make a refueling decision regarding a selective one of approval and denial of the respective one refueling transaction request, generating respective control commands based on the respective information processing activity, and transmitting the respective generated control commands to the respective control assembly, wherein the respective generated control commands are representative of a respective selectable refueling operation for the associated vehicle; wherein the respective control assembly operatively controls the operation of the respective actuator assembly and the operation of the associated respective fuel dispensing assembly in accordance with the respective control commands received from the remote operations facility.
Each respective wireless information transmission step of each respective operative performance step associated with each respective one of the plurality of refueling transaction requests further comprises the steps of: providing a respective first wireless communications device integral with the associated vehicle and having at least one of a transmit capability and a receive capability; and operatively activating the respective first wireless communications device to establish operative communications with the associated control assembly. The operative communications between the respective first wireless communications device and the associated control assembly includes respective information relating to the respective one refueling transaction request. Each respective operative activation of the associated first wireless communications device associated with each respective one of the plurality of refueling transaction requests occurs through selective engagement thereof by a respective customer associated with the associated vehicle.
Each respective control assembly providing step of each respective operative performance step associated with each respective one of the plurality of refueling transaction requests further comprises the steps of: providing a respective second wireless communications device that is disposed at the associated service station site in a manner sufficient to enable operative communications with the associated first wireless communications device while the associated vehicle is positioned for refueling relative to the associated respective fuel dispensing assembly.
Each respective operative performance step associated with each respective one of the plurality of refueling transaction requests further comprises the steps of: providing to the associated control assembly respective position signals that are representative of the position of the associated actuator assembly relative to the associated vehicle and relative to the associated nozzle assembly; and transmitting from the associated control assembly to the remote operations facility the respective provided position signals.
The remote operations facility further performs, in respect of each respective one of the plurality of refueling transaction requests, the steps of: (a) evaluating the associated information received from the associated control assembly to make a respective decision regarding a selective one of approval and denial of the respective one refueling transaction request, generating respective dispenser control signals based on the evaluation of the associated information and developed in accordance with the respective refueling decision, wherein the respective generated dispenser control signals are representative of a respective selectable refueling activity for the associated fuel dispensing assembly, and transmitting the respective generated dispenser control signals to the associated control assembly for operative control action in accordance therewith; (b) evaluating the associated position signals received from the associated control assembly, generating respective actuator assembly control signals based on the position signals evaluation, wherein the respective generated actuator assembly control signals are representative of an operational repositioning activity for the associated actuator assembly relative to maneuvering the associated nozzle assembly into a selective one of engagement and disengagement relative to the fuel inlet of the associated vehicle, and transmitting the respective generated actuator assembly control signals to the associated control assembly for operative control action in accordance therewith; and (c) evaluating respective data received from the associated control assembly that is representative of an operational state of the associated fuel dispensing assembly to determine if the respective selected refueling activity has been completed, and, upon an affirmative determination of the completion of refueling activity, transmitting to the associated control assembly respective control signals sufficient to operate the associated actuator assembly to cause the disengagement of the associated nozzle assembly from the fuel inlet of the associated vehicle.
The method, in another form thereof, further comprises the steps of: providing a communications network operatively connected to the remote operations facility, wherein the communications network is arranged to provide communications access to at least one merchant to enable the execution of a transaction therewith by the remote operations facility in accordance with an associated transaction request operatively received from a corresponding respective control assembly associated with a corresponding respective one of the plurality of vehicles. The method further comprises the steps of: transmitting from the respective first wireless communications device associated with the respective one control assembly to the second wireless communications device associated with the respective one control assembly a commercial transaction request relating to commercial activity involving a selective one of the at least one merchant; transmitting the commercial transaction request received by the associated second wireless communications device to the remote operations facility; wherein the remote operations facility performs the steps of processing the commercial transaction request transmitted thereto and conducting a transaction with the corresponding one of the at least one merchant associated with the commercial transaction request in accordance with the processing activity for the commercial transaction request.
The step of providing a communications network further includes the step of providing an internet facility including a respective electronic commerce site for each one of the at least one merchant that enables the operative processing of transaction requests characterized by electronic commerce activity.
One advantage of the present invention is that the fuel delivery system can be fully automated by employing a wireless communications arrangement to facilitate communications between the vehicle and dispenser system and by utilizing a hydraulic robotic arm to facilitate controllable movement of the nozzle assembly into fueling engagement with the vehicle, thereby allowing the customer to remain in the vehicle during the entire refueling operation.
Another advantage of the present invention is that the central system controller located at the remote service facility can perform the full range of processing operations needed to process all of the refueling transaction requests generated by the various service station sites.
Another advantage of the invention is that the off-site centralized processing of the refueling requests (i.e., at the remote service facility) eliminates the need found with conventional systems to install dedicated processing equipment into each fuel dispensing apparatus configured at each one of the service station sites.
Another advantage of the present invention is that the centralized transaction processing afforded by the remote central system controller permits an implementation for the dedicated on-site controllers located at the service station sites that is relatively simple, namely one that essentially provides a transmit/receive capability and a control function that can be found in an Internet-type appliance.
A further advantage of the invention is that the centralized system controller provides the customer with the opportunity to request additional commercial transactions unrelated to the current refueling activity by establishing a communications capability between the remote service facility and other commercial retailers, for example by connecting the remote service facility to a communications network such as the Internet or Worldwide Web that provides access to various online merchants where electronic commerce activity can be conducted by the central system controller at the request of the customer, thereby providing the customer with a one-stop purchasing opportunity at the service station site.
A further advantage of the invention is that the automated fuel delivery system employs high-speed, high-bandwidth communication links to connect the remote service facility with each one of the multiple service station sites, thereby optimizing communications with the remote service facility.
A further advantage of the invention is that the customer can communicate with the remote service facility in an automated fashion from within the vehicle by employing an RF transceiver installed in the vehicle which communicates with a corresponding RF transceiver integrated within the fuel dispensing assembly.
A further advantage of the invention is that the physical task of refueling the vehicle can be performed automatically without any assistance from the customer by utilizing a robotics type actuator assembly that is controllably activated by the centralized system controller to cause the nozzle assembly to be placed into a selective one of engagement and disengagement with the vehicle fuel inlet.
A yet further advantage of the invention is that the remote service facility can be operated in a fully automated fashion or staffed with various levels of on-hand operator assistance to create the most favorable customer service relationship.
A yet further advantage of the invention is that the automated fuel delivery system supports a wide-bandwidth information exchange between the customer and remote service facility that involves various types of signals, e.g., data, voice, video, and control.